Stanley enjoyed six years on the sitcom, and after the cancellation of "Leave It To Beaver" in 1963, Stanley attended North Hollywood High School. While there, he developed a liking for alcohol and soon learned how to use his fame to best advantage. He became friendly with the pop-rock band Paul Revere and the Raiders and reportedly moved in with the band for a time. He discovered hard drugs in the mid 1960's, an unfortunate obsession that would dog him for many years to come.

For a while, at his parent's insistence, he attempted living with his sister in Jamica, where he tried his hand at painting. But he couldn't abstain from his drug use. He then returned to Los Angeles at age 22, where he married briefly. Then to support himself he started dealing illegal drugs. Even worse, later he was convicted of breaking into pharmacies and sentenced to a year in jail.

After being incarcerated, Stanley tried his hand at being a roofer, waiter and janitor before descending back into drug use, particularly heroin. He was in-and-out of rehab centers for many years, eventually getting sober in 1995. He managed to turn his life around and he finally conquered his addictions, without any relapses. But unfortunately he had already contracted hepatitis C.

Eventually Stanley re-established a relationship with a daughter who he hadn't seen in twenty years, and became close to his nephew, Dez Fafara of the rock band Coal Chamber. He also kept in contact with other child actors who were in recovery, and helped fellow addicts to stay clean and sober. He started a business designing web sites, and was beginning to have some success. At the time of his death he had a flat in Portland's Mark Harfield Building, an apartment complex created for people in recovery from addiction.

Stanley Fafara was given two well-attended funerals